Most of Dan Hicks [Import, Best of]

One star for the remastering.

Dan Hicks recorded one album for Epic records, called Original Recordings. It had 11 tracks. He also recorded a number of songs for a second album that was never released. This CD contains 9 of the 11 tracks from Original Recordings, plus 7 tracks that were meant to be released on the second album. The CD is 65 minutes long. I don't know why 2 tracks from Original Recordings were left off of this CD. I have never heard the LP version of Original Recordings, so I don't know what those 2 missing songs are like.

Original Recordings did not sell well, and Dan Hicks moved from Epic Records to Blue Thumb Records. He released a number of albums for Blue Thumb. Through the years, he redid most of the best songs on Original Recordings and put them on his new Blue Thumb albums (like Strikin' It Rich and Where's The Money).

The problem is that most of Dan Hick's CD re-issues have horrible sound. MCA bought out Blue Thumb. MCA has done very cheap CD releases of classic albums from their catalog. The sound quality is very poor. It is flat, muddled and has no dynamic range. Also, the packaging is very cheap. Only the front side of the album cover would be reproduced. The production details would be typed on the backside. I admit, that I bought my CD's (Striking It Rich, Where's the Money, Last Train to Hicksville) when they first came out. There is a possibility that MCA has improved the sound since then.

On this CD, The Most of Dan Hicks, the sound quality is excellent on the first 9 songs. It is crystal clear, with a high dynamic range. It just resonates. On the last 7 tracks, the sound quality is also very good, but there is a high end buzz that can be heard when cymbals are played or during the female vocals. But even with the buzz, the sound quality is still better than the MCA CD's.

On the first 9 tracks, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, have an even more stripped down and accoustic sound than usual. Some parts are just vocals and a guitar or violin, with no bass or drums. It still sounds great.

This album contains early versions of many of the Dan Hick's classics, such as I Scare Myself, Canned Music and News From Up The Street. I prefer the later versions of these songs, where they are a bit more amplified and more rock oriented. But, since the CD's of the later verisons of the songs have such bad sound, overall, I like this album better.

This album does contain some goofy songs in the middle, but overall, I really enjoy.

I once saw Dan Hicks play in a bar in Tucson. He had broken up the Hot Licks and was now playing in a band called Dan Hick's Accoustic Warrior, which had no female back up singers. His popularity was down. He was scheduled for 2 shows, but the second show did not sell well. They gave free tickets to those who attended the first show. I only saw the second show. Dan Hicks was so drunk that he forgot the words to a song and had to start it over. All in all, it wasn't a very good concert. But, I have seen him at verious reunions of the Hot Licks, and he has been very good.

Interesting note: David LaFlamme, from It's A Beautiful Day, was the original violin player in the Hot Licks, but left before an album was recorded. He was replaced by Sid Page, who also appeared on many other people's albums (including It's A Beautiful Day) and did the soundtracks for tons of movies.